


Adventure Of A Lifetime

by littleangels



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Character Study, Drabble, F/M, Family, Family Fluff, Fluff, Gen, Identity Reveal, Other, Reveal
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-04-03
Updated: 2016-07-05
Packaged: 2018-05-31 02:03:02
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 2,352
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6451111
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/littleangels/pseuds/littleangels
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Life exists in moments. Life is made up of short, ninety second bursts of memories, tidbits of happiness tied together with a smile. </p><p>And life? Life is an adventure. And Adrien knows that adventures are always better when spent with someone he loves.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Little Lionheart

**Author's Note:**

> Just fluffy fluff for our precious cat son (a.k.a. banana boy Adrien) because I think I’ve put him through enough over the last two fics I posted lol
> 
> (Pretty much all just drabbles at about 500 words each!)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Where Adrien lives in a castle.

His first adventure happens in a big stone castle.

            _Maman_ and Papa are going around him in circles, laughing and smiling as they play in Adrien’s little kingdom.

            He is a prince and his mother is a queen and his father is a king, but one day, Adrien decides that would be no fun.

            “ _Papa_ ,” he pleads, tugging at his shirt. “You gotta be the dragon!”

            “Me? The dragon?” His dad crosses his arms over his chest and gives his son a funny look. “How come I have to be the bad guy? Don’t you want to have a turn since you’re the little monster of the house?”

            Adrien giggles but does not waver.

            “You gotta!” he says. His face is contorted with furrowed brows and a wrinkled nose. He crosses his arms, too, and stands on his tiptoes so he can reach the crook of his Papa’s elbow. “You’re very good at it!”

            “Good at being the bad guy, you mean?” His father raises an eyebrow.

            Adrien looks bashful, but he nods firmly. “Yes?” he answers, and it comes out sounding like a question.

            His father sighs, but there is a smile lifting at the corners of his lips.

            “All right,” he says at last, leaning down briefly to ruffle his son’s hair. “I’ll be the dragon.”

            Adrien grins at him and waves a wooden sword in the air. “And now we fight!” he declares.

            “And what exactly are we fighting for, hm?”

            “Uh…” He looks around and points at his mother, who is sitting on the couch and watching her two boys with smiling eyes. “ _Maman!_ ” he says, sounding triumphant already. “Whoever wins the battle gets _Maman!_ ”

            “You can’t just win a person, Adrien.”

            That is when his _Maman_ interjects with a laugh. “Oh, Gabriel,” she teases in her soft voice. “Don’t tell me you’re too chicken. Afraid you’ll lose me to our son?”

            His Papa huffs. “Of course not,” he says, his voice hard with determination. “You better prepare yourself, Adrien. _En garde_ , little knight!”

            “That’s a _prince_ to you, you mean old dragon!” Adrien grins his toothy smile and swings his sword at his dad.

            And the battle commences, continuing over one long hour before his Papa keels over in defeat at last.

            Prince Adrien holds his mighty sword in the air and yells, “The evil dragon is no longer! Let freedom reign!”

            _Maman_ showers him in kisses afterwards, and his Papa rises from the dead to tackle them both in one big, snuggly hug.

            Together, the three of them sit in a little circle of giggles and tickles and smiles.

            _Yeah_ , Adrien remembers thinking. _This really is the best of times_.


	2. Call Me Atlas

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Where Adrien hears a bedtime story.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The last chapter was barely 0.5k words, so I thought I would post the next one and then just slowly post the chapters thereafter since there’s another 9 to go anyways.

His second adventure lies in the books he read at night.

            He remembers being younger. His mother is still around, and she reads him stories every night before bed.

            She is a grand storyteller, changing her voice to fit the characters she reads to him and saying every word with the emotion that the story implies.

            Adrien remembers his mother reading him his favorite story in her wonderful voice.

            (He tries to join in. Of course, Adrien realizes that he cannot do the voices as well as his mother does, but he tries his best nonetheless.)

            “‘People where you live,’ the little prince said, ‘grow five thousand roses in one garden... yet they don’t find what they’re looking for...,’” his mother says in a small but sturdy voice.

            “‘They don't find it,’ I answered,” Adrien supplies with a giggle.

            His mother smiles and continues, “‘And yet what they’re looking for could be found in a single rose or a little water...’”

            “‘Of course,” I answered,” said Adrien. He grows tried by the minute, and he hears his own voice trail off into a whisper.

            “‘And the little prince added, ‘But eyes are blind. You have to look with the heart.’” His mother stops at the end of the paragraph and looks at him with smiling eyes. “All right, _mon petit prince_ ,” she says in her normal voice. “I think we should stop there for tonight. It’s getting late.”

            Adrien stifles a yawn. “Just a little more?” he asks. His eyes feel like they’re weighed down by bricks, but he tries his best to keep them open. “Please?”

            “You’re sleepy,” his mother says, placing a hand on his cheek. “I should let you sleep.”

            “But I’m not tired at all,” Adrien argues. He knows it’s hopeless when his head bobs at her fingers, but he speaks in a louder voice to seem lively. “See, _Maman?_ I’m fine.”

            His mother laughs and lifts a hand to his cheek, gently rubbing her thumb over the apple of his cheeks. “Sweet dreams, my little Adrien,” she says softly. “Don’t forget to dream for me the world.”

            Adrien wrinkles his nose at her. “What’s that supposed to mean?” he asks. “You said the same thing last night, too.”

            She pauses, mulling over his question.

            “You see,” she begins to explain, “every book carries a whole new world.” She holds the book in her hand and fans through, delicately skimming over each page with her thumb. “Books can take you to magical places that aren’t always here on earth. That’s why some books can be very heavy. Do you really expect hundreds of thin little pieces of paper to lift the world a writer creates?”

            “I still don’t get it.” Adrien pouts.

            “Think of it this way,” his mother adds. “All books, big or small, are made of hundreds and maybe millions of different combinations of twenty-six letters. And these writers can make stories and people and places appear out of thin air.” She taps his temple. “And you see it all up there. You think and imagine everything they wrote in that brilliant head of yours. How crazy is that?”

            “Pretty crazy,” Adrien mumbles in agreement. “Goodnight, _Maman_.”

            She leans over to press a kiss on his forehead. “Goodnight, _mon petit prince_.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I wish we got to see more of Mama Agreste, is all I have to say, tbh.


	3. Coup de Foudre

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Where Adrien falls in love.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I HAVEN'T UPDATED IN WEEKS but it's a double update? So it's not too shabby.

His third adventure happens many years after the second. It happens in broad daylight as he runs across the rooftops of Paris to keep up with a girl in bright red.

            They stop in front of the Eiffel Tower as a menacing face looms over their city. He calls himself Hawk Moth, and he demands Ladybug and Cat Noir’s Miraculouses.

            He remembers feeling a strong sense of determination to protect this city, protect Ladybug, and protect the precious freedom he had barely even tasted with the help of the miraculous he was given earlier.

            He remembers thinking that he wouldn’t go down without a fight.

            “Nice try, Hawk Moth,” Ladybug says, smiling confidently as she struts ahead, “but don’t reverse the roles. We all know who the super villain is— You’re the one who transformed all these innocent people into monsters of stone and rock!” She stands tall, despite her feelings of uncertainty from earlier. “Hawk Moth!” she continues. “It doesn’t matter how long it will take! But we will find you, and you’ll be the one giving us your Miraculous!”

            And just like that, she flies into action, swinging her yoyo confidently into battle, capturing akuma after akuma. Adrien could hardly believe that she was the same girl that had come to him full of self-doubt and uncertainty.

            “I’m making a promise to all of you,” she declares with a flourish of her hand. “No matter who comes to try and hurt you, Ladybug and Cat Noir will do everything in their power to help!” And with that, she releases the purified akumas into the sky of Paris.

            Adrien remembers looking up at her with such strong admiration in his eyes.

            “Wow,” he breathes. “It doesn’t matter who’s under that mask; I love this girl.”

            It is the truth, of course. He looks at her and feels inspired to be the best version of himself and be able to stand beside her as her partner and best friend.

            He falls head-over-heels for her. He loves how quickly she put her trust in him, how quickly she can jump back from her troubles and put the safety of Paris’s citizens first, and how quickly she thinks on her feet.

 _Trusting_. _Confident_. _Selfless_. _Resourceful_.

            That is all Adrien knows about the girl who calls herself Ladybug. He feels a light pull at his heartstrings as he realizes how much he wants to get to know her better.

 _Falling in love_ , he thinks with a dreamy daze in his eyes. _Now_ that’s _a real adventure_.


	4. Après La Pluie, Le Beau Temps

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Where Adrien makes a friend.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Because everyone loves the Umbrella Scene™

His fourth adventure lasts just a moment—ninety seconds to be exact.

            It isn’t long after his third adventure when he meets Marinette atop the stairs of the collège. It is raining, and she does not have an umbrella.

            “ _Salut_ ,” he attempts to greet with a little wave.

            Marinette turns away from him, probably still miffed about their misunderstanding from yesterday.

            Adrien’s shoulders drop, but not before he remembers something Nino told him earlier:

_Just tell her the truth!_

            With that in mind, he takes a deep breath.

            “I just wanna let you know that I just wanted to get the gum off of your seat,” he begins. He looks at her over his shoulder. “It’s true, you know.” He realizes that she should have stopped there, but before he knows it, he babbles on: “I’ve… never been to school before. I’ve never really had friends. This is all very new to me.”

            He gives her a nonchalant shrug before offering his umbrella.

            Adrien remembers the question in her gaze, but the uneasiness is gone from her eyes. She looks at him with bright and familiar blue eyes as she slowly reaches out, gently taking the umbrella from his hands.

            Marinette holds it steadily over her head for a few seconds, eyes inching upwards to meet his when suddenly—

 _Snap!_ The umbrella closes on her, and Adrien finds himself unable to help the obnoxiously loud laugh that bursts out of his mouth.

            He laughs for a few long seconds, and he hears a faint giggle before straightening himself, and regaining his composure.

            (Adrien feels very bad. He does not feel sorry for laughing in the slightest.)

            “See you tomorrow, then,” he says with a smile in his voice.

            “Y-Yes!” she stutters. Is she still mad at him? “See y— tomorr— tomorrow I see…?”

            The rest of her voice trails off as he walks down the damp stone steps of the school. Not a few seconds passed before Plagg peaks his head out of his polo.

            “First day of school and you already have a girlfriend…?” Plagg mewls in a teasing voice.

            Adrien shakes his head at him. “Don’t exaggerate,” he tells the kwami. “She’s just a friend.”

 _Friend_.

            It feels great to taste the word on his lips and not just think of someone mean like Chloé.

            “A friend,” he echoes aloud. He sneaks a peek at Marinette before turning away and walking to his car. Although the rain beats down in cold drops, a warm feeling spreads from his chest to the spot on his fingertips when his hand brushed against hers.

            It feels great to call someone a friend at last.


	5. As Luck Would Have It

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Where identities are revealed.

His fifth adventure is sort of an accident.

     Adrien has rotten luck, and a certain lady—contrary to how lucky her name might suggest—is actually very klutzy.

     He walks into her in a not-so busy street and stays frozen to his spot, unable to believe the scene unfolding before his eyes. Ladybug releases her transformation right in front of him.

     It is funny at first because she doesn’t realize that Cat Noir—well, _Adrien_ —is standing a mere ten feet away, remaining absolutely shell-shocked by what had just transpired.

     (However, _shell-shocked_ quickly grows into _ecstatic_. Marinette… To think, that one of his first _friends_ turns out to be his partner and best friend all along? Of course Adrien is ecstatic!)

     “That was close, Tikki,” Marinette says to a floating red bug—her kwami, Adrien assumes. “Cat Noir almost discovered my ident—” She abruptly cuts the rest of the word off when she finally acknowledges that _almost_ became _outright_. “—ity,” she finishes, slapping a hand on her forehead. “ _Mon dieu!_ ”

     Adrien manages a smile. “Um, looks like the cat’s out of the bag?” he offers halfheartedly. Before Marinette could open her mouth for a retort, he interrupts. “And before you freak out, my lady,” he adds quickly, “we’ll make it even, all right? Fair is fair.”

     And just like that: Adrien releases his transformation.

     “Hello, Marinette!” he greets.

     She answers with her jaw dropping.

     “Are you surprised?”

     Marinette answers with a small nod.

     “Well, for what it’s worth…,” he begins, taking a step closer and placing his hands on her shoulders. He feels his breath catch when her dazzling blue eyes meet his with… is it nervousness? Shock? She wears an odd expression on her face. “… I’m glad it’s you.”

     He can’t help it; Adrien pulls her into a tight hug.

     Adrien thinks he should let go soon. Ladybug, he knows, is never too keen on too much physical contact between the two of them.

     But he is surprised when _Marinette_ relaxes into his embrace and wraps her arms around him in return.

     “I-I’m glad it’s you, too,” she says softly. “Thanks for having my back all this time.”

     “And to think,” he adds, pulling back a couple inches, “all it took to find you was to look behind mine.”

     “We really are clueless, aren’t we?” Marinette giggles. “Now that I think about it, it makes a lot of sense that _you'd_  be Cat Noir. I can’t imagine anyone else making awful jokes.”

     “Hey!” Adrien sounds hurt, but it takes a lot of self-control to keep himself from laughing. “You _love_ my puns!”

     Marinette smiles at him, playful and bright. “Sure, I do, Adrien.”

     They talk a little more, laughing at how stupid they are for not realizing sooner.

     All the while, Adrien walks back to school with a new bounce in his step. He’s glad that his heart belongs to this brilliant girl beside him. He can’t imagine falling for anybody else.

**Author's Note:**

> The rest will be short bits of Adrien’s life: Just like this one. I just thought that it would be nice to take a stroll down memory lane through his life, you know? The kid was probably very happy, and I wanna keep him that way.
> 
> (This fic will be done fairly quickly as I have the next 7ish done already, just to give y’all a heads up.)
> 
> Anyways, leave a kudos if you look forward to the next chapter! Leave a kudos if you liked it! Leave a kudos if you hated it! Thanks for being great, as always <3


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